Go to any home in El Salvador and you are sure to encounter one thing:
A working sink? No.
Air conditioning? No.
A flushing toilet? Maybe.
The one thing you’re guaranteed to see is a hammock. They’re as much of a Salvadorian staple as the pupusa, and they’re woven ubiquitously throughout the culture. I’ve conducted many a borrower verification sitting on a hammock, across from the interviewee on the hammock parallel. I’ve eaten dinner on a hammock. I’ve fallen asleep on many hammocks.

As many readers of this blog likely know, Kiva lends zero-interest capital to microfinance institutions (MFIs) all over the world. Perhaps fewer of you know that the majority of those MFIs charge their clients interest on the loans they receive through Kiva - sometimes as high as 35% to 40% in my regions.
I’ll admit, I was disappointed when I learned that peculiar detail of the Kiva model. However, the fact that I’m writing this post should be proof enough that my on-the-ground work with Kiva’s Field Partners has changed me from a skeptic to a believer. Care to know how I got there...

This article was originally published by the European Microfinance Platform and edited for this platform.

Veronica Herrera, the MiCrédito team and me

Veronica Herrera co-founded MiCrédito, a Kiva Field Partner, in 2004 with the support of the Canada-based development association, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA).
“Empowering youth is vital to see the change in Nicaragua that we seek,” Herrera says. “I believe education, in addition to microfinance, is a...

Having lived and worked in Kenya for most of my life, I thought I knew a lot about the Microfinance space in the country. Well, all that changed when I joined VisionFund Kenya as a Kiva fellow a few months ago.
VisionFund Kenya (VFK) is a microfinance institution in Kenya founded in the year 2000 by World Vision Kenya. They have over 13 branches located in different parts of Kenya with a current customer base of over 16,000 borrowers, and their unique passion to better the lives of children is clearly stated in their vision statement: ''Our vision for every child, life in all its...

The town is called San Cristobal Norte – or Sacrin for short – and remember that name because I might never make it out. It’s mid-afternoon, but I am sitting in the dark and the rain outside has culminated into a monotone shriek. So much for the borrower visit I was supposed to do today.
My compañeros at this Field Partner – Grupo Finca – didn't know Tropical Storm Nate would hit Costa Rica. Nobody did. Still, it swept into Sacrin in the middle of the night, where I was sleeping in the home of some of its employees.

A week after I got to Georgia as a Kiva fellow in the field, I received an email from Giorgie, one of the guys I had contacted when looking for a place to stay in Tbilisi. He asked if I was interested in coming to his parents’ village to help pick grapes over the weekend. Of course I was! I knew an adventure was afoot.
For context, Georgia is a former soviet republic located in the Caucasus, the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Georgia has been struggling to transistion to a market economy after the soviet break up, and you can help them by clicking here and backing... Continue Reading >>

"We cannot survive without rice.” “Rice is the reason why we work.” “I can have a meal with just rice.” “Rice is life.” “When there is rice, there is no hunger.”

These are some of the quotes I gathered when I interviewed my colleagues at Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), a Kiva Field Partner, about what rice means to them. Rice plays a big role in the Filipino culture as well as for most other Asian countries. My dad would be the first one to agree that without rice, he is not full.

When you read the phrase “internally displaced persons,” what countries come to mind? I immediately think of Syria and Iraq. If pressed, I can think of a few more: South Sudan, perhaps Somalia and Pakistan.
If the phrase “internally displaced persons” (IDPs) means nothing to you, you’re in good company; I learned the term myself within the last month. IDPs are people who are forced to leave their homes due to violence or natural disasters, but have not crossed their home country’s borders.
I consider myself a daily consumer of global news. As a Spanish speaker and a current...

Meeting with Kiva borrowers is a privilege that I have had the opportunity to enjoy multiple times since I have landed in Africa. Oftentimes, their stories, professional or personal, have made me forget the initial reason for my visit. Every single story has something special, and you never know what to expect until you arrive at their home, sit on a wobbly seat and start listening. Whether they are touching, inspiring, heartbreaking or promising, stories always move me deeply.
My name is Victor, a Kiva fellow based in Cape Coast, Ghana, and I wish to introduce you to Joyce - a...

It’s no surprise that people around me don’t fully understand why I left the comfort of my job and life in the United States to go to the Philippines to become a Kiva fellow. Friends and family often ask, “What do you do, exactly, for Kiva?”

I am going to attempt to answer this question by walking you through one of the responsibilities I am asked to complete during my time here: borrower...

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Kiva Fellows are volunteers who maximize Kiva's impact around the world. By working closely with our Field Partners in over 50 countries, they make sure loan dollars go where they're needed most -- while having a few adventures along the way. Learn more >>